【Editor's Note】
Greek mythology says that Prometheus steals the heavenly fire to illuminate the earthly world.
Marx said, I am Prometheus!
In China in the first half of the 20th century, there was also such a group of Prometheans: they brought the light of Marxism to the dark and directionless ancient countries of the East, and used theory to illuminate the way forward for new China;
They will ignite the spark of faith into a sharp theoretical weapon, igniting the old world and giving birth to a new China.
We call them the Light Chasers.
The light of Marxist truth that they are chasing has passed through the haze of old China and is flying to the forefront of the times under the care of generations of communists, lighting up the glorious dreams of the new era. As General Secretary Xi Jinping once profoundly pointed out, "The most valuable and influential spiritual wealth left by Marx to us is the scientific theory named after him - Marxism." This theory is like a magnificent sunrise, illuminating the path for mankind to explore the laws of history and to seek its own liberation."
Looking back, we must not forget that they have used theory to protect China's steady growth.
The light chaser introduced today is Aischi who "threw a piece of dry-roasted pie to the public".
First, a black cat that speaks "what is the materialist view of history"
Eschi, who never believed in the fate of ghosts and gods, had a connection with philosophy, but it seemed to be destined.
In 1925, a journal published by the Commercial Press included an illustration titled "Philosopher" depicting a black cat with a look very similar to the dark-skinned Esquire.
Thus, the black cat philosopher became his nickname.
At that time, at the age of 15, he had just completed a lecture on "What is the Materialist View of History", which caused a sensation throughout the middle school campus. Progressive youth want to see the "Black Cat Philosopher" really looks like.
His deeds also began to circulate among students - it is said that the "little Esquick", who did not know what "materialism" meant at an early age, had learned to use practice to break the illusory things.
Once, he stole a cake that his mother had offered to the bodhisattva, and when her mother found out, she deliberately said, "Maitreya Buddha stole it." His mother asked him, "Maitreya Buddha is made of porcelain, so how could he steal it?" ”
But he had a lot of words: "Since Maitreya Buddha can't eat, what is he offering him?" Don't be superstitious, there are no ghosts at all. ”
Such progressive philosophical thought also brought him a prison disaster.
In 1927, Sun Chuanfang, a Beiyang warlord who was arresting the head of the student movement, happened to encounter Aischi visiting his brother who had led the May Fourth Movement, so he arrested him and threw him in prison.
At the age of 17, Eschi was severely tortured and sentenced to death in prison for the progressive idea that "the world rises and falls, and the pirate is responsible".
Thanks to his father and Sun Chuanfang, who were alumni of the same school, Aischi was released.
Calling for the "rise and fall of the world", but falling into a senseless disaster, such an encounter deepened Aischi's concern about the general trend of society, and he began to search for the truth to save the country and save the people.
At this moment, magazines such as "New Youth" and "Guide" founded by the Chinese Communists appeared in front of his eyes. The light of thought in the book illuminates the obscurity and wandering in his heart.
He said to his friend Lu Wanmei, "I always want to find out a scientific truth about the universe and life, but I feel that it is not clear and mysterious." Reading the works of Marx and Engels, I suddenly felt enlightened. ”
At that time, all kinds of social trends surged up, but only materialism and dialectics were left in Aischi's world, and this "black cat" who had talked about the "materialist view of history" became a thorough Marxist philosopher.
In 1931, when the "918" incident broke out and the Kuomintang was trying to save the people, the Kuomintang spread a large number of rumors for the purpose of "encircling and suppressing" the Communist Party and the revolutionary base areas, and did its utmost to slander the Communist Party and Marxism.
Aischi realized that for the sake of the reality of the revolution, only by allowing young people who are eager for progress to correctly understand the world and change the world can we light up the spark of new China.
As Mao Zedong said, "Let philosophy be liberated from the classrooms and books of philosophers and turned into sharp weapons in the hands of the masses." ”
Thus, the "dry-roasted big cake", "Popular Philosophy", came out.
A bestseller about "philosophy is not mysterious."
The reason why Aischi called "Popular Philosophy" a "dry-baked big cake" is relative to college students.
Esoteric philosophical knowledge, like a beautifully decorated pastry, can only reach the hands of distinguished college students. Dry-roasted flatbread, on the other hand, can give the lost scholars a solution to the famine of knowledge on the streets, shops, and villages of the city.
If any kind of profound learning is to truly influence the masses, it must enter the masses.
Aischi also knows this truth.
Therefore, before throwing out this "dry roasted pie", how to make it more acceptable to the public, Aischi used some effort. He read in the book that the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was very good at "debating" with people in the streets, and his ideas gradually became known in debates.
At that time, Aischi just had an opportunity to "debate".
It was 1934, and the Declaration opened a supplement to the Book Of Questions and Answers, in which Aischi was responsible for the column "Philosophical Speeches", which explained the principles of dialectical materialism in the form of readers' questions and answers or refutations.
In order to be as close as possible to the youth and the masses, Aischi began to try to combine Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods with familiar examples, and to explain various practical problems in society in popular colloquial language, in order to achieve the propaganda and enlightenment role of revolutionary theory.
For example, he used "a toad wants to eat swan meat" to explain that "everything has its own laws of development" without subordinating to man's subjective wishes.
"Just as a toad can catch bugs in the water but can't catch swans in the air, if what you want is contrary to the laws of matter, you will have to fall into a laughing stock." Hitler wants to dominate the world, the Japanese warlord wants to conquer the earth, this is a good example of the world's understanding of the 'toad wants to eat swan meat', keep you exhausted all your strength, or touch the nail!
No matter what the fascist leaders dream, the general trend of the world will still tend to democracy and socialism, and Chiang Kai-shek wants to learn from Hitler and Mussolini, but he has already hit a big nail, and the autocratic dictatorship will eventually be eliminated, and imperialism will eventually die, and this is the law of world development. ”
These easy-to-understand and allegorical articles, like a simple pie that people crave when they are hungry, quickly and solidly fill the thirst of countless progressive youth for obscure philosophy.
In 1935, the much-publicized column "Philosophical Speech" was published under the title Of Popular Speech. Within a year, its widespread spread caused panic among the Kuomintang authorities and was banned.
However, the more it was banned, the more mysterious the book became, and after some revisions, the Philosophical Speech was renamed Popular Philosophy and continued to be published, and the circulation increased again and again. A Kuomintang official who went to the bookstore of the Reading Publishing House to check the books said helplessly: "Just such a book has made some young people fascinated, and we have been restless, and there is no way out!" ”
Under the anti-Kuomintang "cultural encirclement and suppression" of the youth, "Popular Philosophy" enabled more and more young people to understand China's future, destiny and historical trend from the general trend of social development, and consciously plunged themselves into the torrent of revolution.
Like the torch of revolution, this book illuminated the way forward for the wider and deeper spread of Marxism, so much so that Chiang Kai-shek could not help but admit: "A book of "Popular Philosophy" has broken the ideological defense line of the Three People's Principles. ”
A piece of dry-roasted pie finally made the old world of theoretical famine move towards a new China with abundant food and clothing.
(Text/Yanqiu Reading: Li Jingjun Audio Producer: Zeng Hui Video Producer: Zhang Yu)